Elizabeth Taylor,
the legendary actress famed for her beauty,
her jet-set lifestyle, her charitable endeavors
and her many marriages, has died.
She was 79.
Though a two-time Oscar winner -- for „Butterfield 8“ (1960) and
„Who‘s Afraid of Virginia Woolf“ (1966) -- Taylor was more celebrated
for simply being Elizabeth Taylor: sexy, glamorous, tempestuous, fragile, always trailing courtiers, media and fans.
Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born February 27, 1932, in London, the daughter of two wealthy American art dealers, Francis
and Sara Taylor. Her mother was a former actress who had given
up the career when she married, but encouraged her daughter
in the pursuit. Just after World War II began, her parents moved
back to the United States and settled in Los Angeles, where Francis Taylor catered to a high-level clientele. Young Elizabeth was
noted early on for her looks.

She eventually made her debut for Universal, in 1942, then signed by
MGM, which was to be her home for almost two decades, and made „Lassie Come Home,“ opposite Roddy McDowall. The actor became a devoted friend.
But it was Taylor‘s next film, 1944‘s „National Velvet,“ that made her
a star. In 1950, Taylor turned 18 and had her first hit as an adult, the
classic „Father of the Bride,“ in which she played Spencer Tracy‘s soonto-be-married daughter. Real life mirrored art when Taylor decided to
marry hotel heir Conrad „Nicky“ Hilton Jr., but the marriage wasn‘t nearly as successful as the film: it lasted just eight months.
It wasn‘t until 1958 that Taylor received her first Oscar nomination,
for 1957‘s „Raintree County.“ By then, she was an even bigger star than
before, and known as much for her off-screen romances as her on-screen talent.
She married actor Michael Wilding -- 20 years her senior -- in 1952,
a marriage that lasted five years and produced two children, and then
Hollywood producer Mike Todd a week after her divorce from Wilding.
And after some sluggish work in the early ‚50s, she was appearing in
some renowned films, notably 1956‘s „Giant“ opposite James Dean and
Rock Hudson. Todd suggested her for the role of Maggie the Cat in „Cat
on a Hot Tin Roof“ (1958), and Taylor steamed up the screen, spending
a good part of the movie slinking around in a slip.
Todd died in a plane crash in March 1958. Upon his death, Taylor was
comforted by Todd‘s best friend, actor and singer Eddie Fisher. The comforting turned into an affair. Fisher and Taylor married in 1959 and appeared
opposite each other in the next year‘s „Butterfield 8,“ with Taylor cast as
a sexually carnivorous party girl. Her performance invited the sympathy of
the Motion Picture Academy, and she finally won an Oscar.
In 1960, now perhaps the most famous actress in the world, Taylor was
offered the lead in 20th Century Fox‘s production of „Cleopatra.“ Taylor demanded $1 million -- the highest fee demanded by an actress up to that
time. She performed there with
Richard Burton, who was cast as Marc Antony. The two were inseparable -- and very publicly so. They married in 1964, their every move a headline. Burton bought Taylor jewels, furs, baubles. The two caused near-riots
when they appeared in public. Burton‘s tour of „Hamlet“ sold out and their
movies together -- „The V.I.P.s,“ „The Sandpiper,“ even the grim, groundbreaking „Who‘s Afraid of Virginia Woolf“ -- were hits, the latter also nominated
for 10 Oscars. Taylor received a best actress trophy for her performance as
the tempestuous Martha; Burton was nominated for his performance as
the emasculated George.
The actress‘ career continued to languish as she entered her 40s. Her marriage to Burton also faltered; the two divorced in 1974, and though they remarried the next year, the second attempt ended nine months later.
But the glamour of being Elizabeth Taylor never faded. She devoted herself to charity. She founded the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation after the
death of her friend Rock Hudson, and plowed both her time and money
into its work, especially as her acting career waned in the 1980s. Her charity
work had grossed as much as her film career.
(TEXT) Ján Rosenberg
(PHOTO) TASR/AP